Fire at Historic Bed-Stuy House

A year-and-a-half ago, Montrose wrote a piece about the history of the property at 804 Jefferson Avenue, in Bedford Stuyvesant, a Second Empire mansion known for gatherings of high society in the late 19th century, and the article included this prescient sentence: “Neighbors tell me they hope something good happens to the building soon, as it is now a blight on their block, and they are afraid of fire.” Yesterday, in the late afternoon, it did indeed catch on fire, as noted by @bedstuynews. The FDNY’s response to the blaze was caught in the video above by Hillel Engel For Flatbush Scoop. The footage makes it look like the fire was mostly concentrated in the house next door to 804 Jefferson, but there’s also footage of firemen hosing down 804’s roof. The houses were said to be abandoned, and we have not heard reports of injuries.Walkabout: The House at 804 Jefferson Ave. [Brownstoner] GMAPVideo by Hillel Engel For Flatbush Scoop